


Theories of Modern Motion

by Vita_S_West



Category: Endeavour (TV), Inspector Morse & Related Fandoms
Genre: Boys Will Be Boys, Fluff, Friendship, Sledding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 15:26:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30124866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vita_S_West/pseuds/Vita_S_West
Summary: The best way to beat the Oxford winter blues? Why, go sledding with George Fancy of course!
Relationships: George Fancy & Jim Strange
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	Theories of Modern Motion

Jim was on his way out of the office when the sight of George Fancy labouring over what looked like an awkwardly long plank of wood caught his eye. He slowed his tracks, his head cocked to the side.

“What have you got there, George?”

“A sled.”

“Why have you got it at work?”

“I didn't want to waste the snowfall! I was going to take it out at lunch and go to Raleigh Park, but Morse had me working through lunch. There’s no rest with him, not when there’s some obscure opera clue or German poetry whatnot demanding all his attention. Well, _our_ attention. You wouldn’t think murder would have to be so academic, would you?” he said, his brow furrowed at the thought.

“Well, it is Oxford,” Jim said with a shrug.

“You say that like this sort of stuff happens to everyone in Oxford.”

“Well. No,” Jim admitted.

“Mm, well, my mind’s numbed and empty,” Fancy said. “I’m going to ring in the weekend with some sledding and then maybe some cocoa.”

“Sounds lovely.”

“You want to come?”

The question took Jim so by surprise that his first instinct was to say no. His instinct was always to reject social invitations these days. There was no time for anything else, what with his new promotion and his obligations at the Masonic Lodge. If there was no rest for the wicked, then he must be downright sinful. (Exhaustingly so.)

But the cheerfulness on Fancy’s face and the warmth in his tone stopped him. What else was Jim _really_ doing on a Friday night? Getting takeaway? Cleaning up the mess he’d been putting off cleaning during the week? Sitting down to watch telly and falling asleep within minutes?

“Won’t it get dark soon?”

“Soon, yeah, that’s why we have to hurry. We can still get a few good runs in. Come on it’ll be fun.”

Jim found that he agreed with him. It did sound like it would be very fun and that was the one thing Jim hadn’t had any of all. Not for a long time.

///

The February sun was already starting its meandering descent. Jim felt the day’s conclusion pressing on him. It wasn’t just the day ending, but the week as well. What had he accomplished? What on his never ending to-do list, had he struck off? He’d worked all week, what had he gotten _done?_

“Beautiful, huh?” Fancy interrupted his thoughts, giving Jim a grin. 

It was infectious and Jim felt himself change his mind, re-examining the world below them. Raleigh Park offered tremendous view of the Oxford spires. The cold air and snow clinging to those peaks made them look all the more pristine. Houses spread across on the lower slopes of the hill were built with frontages facing the city, allowing them to have almost as good a view as Jim and George got from their perch. Across snow-covered hillside and whitened meadows, they could see the city centre, framed by parkland’s skeletal trees. Across the terrain, trees in the centre rose within the roofscapes, softening the outline of buildings. In the summer they added contrast to the predominant limestone and grey colours, but with the winter snow, they blended right in. The historic high buildings rose above the otherwise low scale cityscape, while the towers, spires and dome appeared proudly at the centre.

“It looks so peaceful from up here,” Jim mused. “Like a completely different world.”

“Come on, you can contemplate and sound smart later when we have the cocoa. And a pint,” Fancy added. “We’re sledding now.”

So caught up in the idea of it, Jim had failed to consider the logistics of sledding, namely, that he’d have to get onto the sled behind Fancy and hang on.

“No, no, no,” Fancy corrected him when he tried to sit.

“What?”

“Give it a push first. Maybe even a run up. So we can go _fast_ ,” he added with a grin.

“You want to go fast?”

“Yeah, and don’t be an old man about either,” he ordered good-naturedly.

“Oh, you want to go _fast_ do you,” Jim said with his own grin.

Fancy nodded, unsure whether he ought to be worried but unwilling to back down. Jim decided that he should be. One hand on Fancy’s shoulder, the other on the sled, he pushed and ran, gathering speed even as they started to decline. When he hopped on his weight added to the momentum and they only went faster. Cold air blew in their face and Fancy screamed a _woo-hoo,_ arms thrown high and wide, as they went. 

Jim kept his hands on Fancy’s shoulders, at first to keep himself on the sled and then to keep Fancy on it. As they went, Jim felt snow spray up, landing on his face and neck. As the hill raced past him, he felt the weight of his responsibilities, the paperwork, the Lodge, the station. All the stresses and tensions that found their home in his neck and shoulders, weighing him deeper and deeper, seemed to slip away, faster than the trees they flew past. 

When they reached the bottom he was shouting with laughter, louder than Fancy himself. He hadn’t laughed this hard in so long. 

“ _Woo!_ ” Fancy yelled again, turning back to Jim. “Again?”

Jim’s face hurt for grinning. Exhilarated, he didn’t think he could speak if there were any words he wanted to say. He nodded. Again!

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! hope you enjoyed the shenanigans :)


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